Hey guys ,
Been around lexus forums for a while .. one of my first posts... i read a lot of threads but haven't come across one that answers my question... which is:

Have u guys noticed some '04 UL model don't have that plastic casing on the L emblem on grill (which is radar).. do those have the radar in the bumper like the custom luxury new ones have..???

ONe more.. if u were buying UL LS430... would u consider 04 (which was the first year for the new shape & so on) or 05????

Please help answer these as I am really close to deciding my next car ... for VIP scene..

Thanks..

 

i actually read somewhere that the 04 ls430's were somehow 'more' reliable than the 05's but i could never find any real proof of this. i went with an 05 myself because of lower mileage.

 

My son-in-law has a 2003 Ultra, so they must have made them starting in that year!

The body style and interior looks very similar to what I see in the 2005 & 2006 models.

I just purchased a 2005 LS430 with Nav., but not an Ultra! This had only 15,662 miles, which is extremely low miles.

Ed

 

The clear plastic casing on the emblem is for an UL optioned model that has the Radar Cruise and PCS system. Regular UL and CL models had Laser Cruise with the sensor instead located in the lower front bumper.

You can read more about this here.

 

thanks for the response... but despite 04 and 05 being same some 04 UL don't have the plastic covering and some do... only reason asking is if i am considering buying an 04 UL that doesn't doesn't have plastic casing
am i loosing out on a feature... b/c there also 05 UL available but of course pay little more..

don't u guys just love the LS 430....

i can't wait to get one.... for me it seems the outside shape is unbelieveable.. it's not crazy .. lots of ppl don't like .. but i see one and i can't stop looking...

thanks again...please don't forget to answer the question above..!!

 

drpatel77, the answer to your plastic casing on the L emblem question:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/4199977-post26.html

 

"Wanderer" already answered it and provided a link to the discussion. That plastic cover is only if you have the PCS (Pre Collision System) and that was available on '04 or '05 (and other model years actually, but you're concentrating on '04 or '05) with UL or CL trim. You won't see many because it was option, not standard. Whether it was more prevalent in '05 than '04, I don't know.

If it's an UL or CL with the radar cruise and you don't have the plastic cover on the grill, then you'll see the radar opening on the lower bumper on passenger's side. If you see the plastic cover, then you won't see the bumper opening. It's one or the other.

 

ah sweet... u guys are geniuses... thanks a lot..

 

Believe it's the other way around. There were some issues corrected via TSB on a decent-sized range of 2004 6-speed transmissions (which was a brand new transmission for Lexus at the time).

 

thanks for dropping some knowledge dave, so do you think that late model years are historically more reliable, like the 06 being the most reliable out of the 04-06, and 03 being most reliable from the what 01-03 models??

 

good question SOJAH... yes dave so what do u think about that.. later years more reliable than early yrs of release??

 

In general yes that's the way nearly every model works for every manufacturer. When I was shopping I wanted specifically a 2005 or 2006 LS430 so I didn't have to deal with figuring out if a 2004 was part of the tranny issue. You can look at the harvey ***** in Consumer Reports and see a clear trend on launch and maturity with reducing problems. Some of that is age and more issues uncovered in time, but not all of it.

I honestly don't worry about it as much with Lexus as with most other brands (I've owned two first-year Lexus with zero issues). There are also some special exceptions; the first year of the SC430 in 2002 was supposed to have been one of the best years for quality because it was nearly a hand-built all-eyes-on it new undertaking for Lexus.